Dallas Eakins knew exactly what Lars Eller said about Eakins' Edmonton Oilers. He either didn't appreciate it, or appreciated it a whole lot.

Eller, a forward for the Montreal Canadiens, had this to say about the Oilers before Tuesday's game, per Sun Media's Chris Stevenson:

"They play a little bit like a junior team, I think, sometimes," said Eller, tied for the scoring lead among Habs forwards along with linemate Alex Galchenyuk with seven points in seven games.

"They take a lot risks, a lot of chances. They're a little all over the place. There's not a lot of structure always in their game. It can really be anything. You don't know.

"I prefer a little more structured game. Then again, I don't mind high-scoring games, too. Obviously, we're going to try with their skilled players to limit their chances."

After the game, a 4-3 Edmonton comeback win, Eakins understandably, and immediately, swung back. Remember—Eakins is a first-year head coach whose job is developing a young, talented team.

"Games like that, you don't really even have to go play them when you have a player like Lars Eller running his mouth before the game," Eakins said. "It makes for great banter in our dressing room and great motivation, so we thank Lars Eller for his comments before the game. Awesome."

Then he was asked if there was such a thing anymore as bulletin-board material.

"Absolutely. Absolutely. You've got some young player who's trying to get his feet wet, calling an organization a junior team. People take notice. And I knew it was gonna turn. It's just one of those things—that is a total hockey-god thing, and I'm sure that young man has learned his lesson, and I highly doubt you'll see anything like that out of his mouth again."

"They might as well have sent me over a fruit basket and a bottle of wine. I was like, 'man, that is just perfect.' That was a really great present that Mr. Eller laid on us today."

The Oilers are 3-6-1 and have won two straight. Eller is obviously most responsible for that. Close second: goalie Devan Dubnyk, who has stopped 64 of the last 68 shots he's faced after a nightmarish first five appearances.